Europe's warmest capital, built on seven hills and a custard tart recipe kept secret since 1837
Lisbon sits at the mouth of the Tagus River where it meets the Atlantic — the same water the Age of Discovery sailed out on. The city is compact and walkable, its seven hills connected by vintage yellow trams and mechanical elevators, its backstreets lined with blue-and-white azulejo tiles that crack and chip and glow in the afternoon sun. A pastel de nata at Pastéis de Belém, warm from the oven with a dusting of cinnamon, remains the definitive Lisbon experience after 190 years.
Lisbon was a Roman city (Olisipo), a Moorish stronghold for four centuries, and became capital of the Portuguese kingdom in the mid-12th century under King Afonso Henriques. On November 1, 1755 — All Saints' Day — an earthquake of estimated magnitude 8.5–9.0 killed 30,000–40,000 people and triggered fires and a tsunami that destroyed most of the city. The Marquis of Pombal rebuilt the entire Baixa district from scratch in a grid plan; the regularity of the downtown streets is entirely his doing.